Being Joyful is A Strategy
When was the last time you felt in awe of something?
“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”– Albert Einstein
Just take a moment to remember a recent joyful experience. Perhaps nothing comes to your mind? But we all have moments of joy no matter how challenging our days are. It’s just that we are too busy hustling away in our day-to-day that when they come, we let the moments quickly slip away instead of staying with them. A simple moment of looking at the clouds in the summer skies can create spaciousness in our minds, and connect us to the wonder of living.
There’s so much information out there in the world telling us how to optimize everything in our lives. From health to relationships and careers, you can find any information at the tip of your fingers. Then, with technology, we now can track our steps, our heart rate, our sleep etc. That’s all great, but where is the line when we stop and listen deeply to trust the inner guidance from within? Instead, many of us are constantly outsourcing our decisions and living by data and feedback from the external.
We forget to just simply live. To be in awe and wonder of the unknown, to go towards little things that bring us joy, without any justification of its purpose and outcomes, but for pure joy and satisfaction. It’s a child-like wonder, deeply immersed in play, and wanting to go on that slide at the playground just one more time simply because it feels so good!
“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within. “— Eckhart Tolle
Recently, I felt really stuck with where I was in trying to build my coaching business. I was piling on top of many articles and courses around best strategies, messaging, market research, and so on, crunching some data and statistics and trying to map everything out. Something just felt out of place. I realized I lost the magic of why I wanted to create this in the first place — to empower others to live mindfully and fulfill their creative potential.
I went back to my why and return to a place of discovery and wonder. Everything began to flow much better and I reminded myself to trust what I’m doing and that a ‘proven formula’ for others is only a starting point. It’s the same with everything in life. As for writing on Medium, there are so many articles telling you the best strategies on how to build an audience and write stories that people read, but I encourage you to never forget to come back to your muse and check in with your inner wisdom and guidance.
Don’t let your ‘never enough’ inner critic get in the way. You deserve to feel joyful right now. Pull back from whatever task you are stuck at hand and do something else. I promise you that you will feel refreshed and come back with new answers.
“Don’t postpone joy until you have learned all of your lessons. Joy is your lesson.”
— Alan Cohen
Let your work and creativity expand from your centred self. From one that is still, wise and powerful. If you struggle with the idea of letting in joy or knowing what it feels like, watch children play. See the aliveness in their eyes and actions. Or watch how animals behave. They are our best teachers of free play and simple existence. No obligations, no judgement. Following their inner guidance of whatever they need at the moment, whether it is to munch on some grass, have a dump, or join their tribe, they are fully present.
What if you allow yourself to just be? Could you let go of whatever’s at hand at this moment and tune into joy? Could you breathe a little and let yourself to be guided by discovery and wonder? I know for myself that time after time, sometimes the only strategy we need for the moment is to return to joy and let everything else follow.
